VENTURA COUNTY FOCUS | VENTURA

Noted Poets to Read at Weeklong Festival

Now in its fifth year, the Ventura Poetry Festival will kick off a week of readings in downtown Ventura on Tuesday.

The festival will feature local and nationally known poets, said Jackson Wheeler, a poet who established the festival in 1993 with a grant from the city of Ventura. All events are free.

The Tuesday reading at the Daily Grind coffeehouse will feature Jari Chevalier and Jeff McDaniel at 8 p.m. McDaniel is the author of the critically acclaimed "Alibi School."

On Wednesday, the children's reading will be hosted by Franky's Place restaurant at 7 p.m. The festival will move to Cafe Voltaire on Thursday for the annual poetry bake-off at 8 p.m., with featured readers T. L. Cabrera and Bill Calkins.

On April 10, Ventura Bookstore will host Marsha De La O of Ventura and Kevin Patrick Sullivan of San Luis Obispo at 7 p.m.

The festival wraps up April 11 with nationally recognized poet Eloise Klein Healy reading at the Daily Grind at 7:30 p.m.